Kabal
by SpinoGuy Productions
Summary: A lone vigilante has been prowling the streets for months, hunting down criminals. Thing is, he is a criminal as well. Now, he is on the run from both the police and the reigning crime lord. Will he be able to stay alive long enough to complete his goal? Prequel to my MK: Rebirth story.
1. Chapter 1

It was night. The time where the scum crawled out of the sewers and shadows to terrorize the good people of Deacon City. For twenty five years, he stood by while muggers and murders walked from prison, due to most of the cops being on the take. Men like the Rain flaunted their crimes out to the public, knowing that the cops couldn't arrest him even if they wanted to. His lawyers would just sue the police station for wrongful imprisonment. Every single time someone came up to testify, they either were found death or just disappeared.

It made Kabal sick.

He walked down the street covered in a brown trench coat. On his back were two swords. But they were different. The tips, instead of pointing straight down, curved up into hooks. The rain pounded his head, dampening his hair. It also fogged up the lenses of the gas mask he wore. He needed to protect his identity, hence the mask. His gloved hands were shoved deep into his pockets. Near him, a woman blew a kiss in his direction. He ignored it. The woman only did so in order to get his money. Hookers lined the streets on every street. He didn't blame the women. It was the only job they could find. He pitied them, actually. No, Kabal blamed everything else.

He heard a scream from across the street. The masked man made a quick left into traffic. Despite the numerous cars, he didn't stop. Several people shouted at him, but he didn't care. Someone was in trouble. And no one else would help. It was up to him. He stepped into the alley. It was dark, damp, and smelled up disease. That's when he saw them. A man was holding a knife out to a terrified woman. Several scars ran along his face. Tears streamed down the woman's face. She'd been only crying recently. Kabal's foot smashed into a puddle, earning both a loud crash and the attention of the attacker.

Kabal just stood there, silently, glaring into this monster's eyes. Neither said a word. Only the pattering of the rain and the light sobbing of the woman broke all silence. The attacker finally asked, "What the hell are you?"

Looking from the woman to the scarred man, Kabal said, "Let her go. Turn yourself in. Or I will kill you." His voice was muffled from the mask he wore, but it was still obvious that it was hoarse.

The attacker had cocked an incredulous eyebrow, before letting out a laugh. He pushed the woman to the ground and walked towards Kabal. "You should learn to mind your own business, boyo." From the man's left sleeve slid out another knife. He got into what would be considered a fighting stance. "Now, I'm going to have to teach you some manners."

He ran at Kabal, who dodged him easily. The scarred man turned around, ready to stab the masked man. Kabal grabbed the attacker's right hand, and quickly broke it against the wall. His scream echoed throughout the alleyway, but it was silenced when a fist connected with his face. Kabal stood over the fallen man, hook sword in hand. A light flashed through the gas mask's lens, turning them white for a moment. The fallen attacker tried to crawl away, but a boot stomping firmly on his back stopped him. He looked up, and opened his mouth to scream. But a sword being brought down on his head silenced the scream.

Kabal looked over to the shaking woman. She didn't know whether to thank this strange man or run away terrified. Kabal reached into his pocket, and pulled out a roll of money. He handed it to the woman before walking away, his hands back in his pockets. The woman looked down at the roll of twenties, too stunned by the events to move.

* * *

><p>"<em>Once again, the masked vigilante has struck again. Last night, this sword wielding man had stopped a mugging and potential rape in progress. I'm here with the witness, who will now tell us her story."<em>

"_At first, I-I didn't know if I should be scared. This man did save my life, but he also killed a guy. But then, he just took out a bunch of twenties. If he's watching, I just want to thank him."_

The TV clicked off. In the reflection of the screen, a large man could be seen. He was of African descent, bald, and had some hair on his chin. He was leaning against a desk. A white, button up shirt was on his torso, with a police badge handing around his neck. He turned to face two others in his office. One was wearing a cap, the other had a blindfold wrapped around his eyes. Attached to the blindfolded man's back was a sword, and a gun strapped to his thigh. The cap wearing man had two nightsticks on his back, and two guns strapped to each thigh. The black man sighed, and ran his hand over his head. "The third one this week."

The man with the blindfold asked, "Any leads on who he is, Captain?"

Captain Jackson Briggs shook his head. "But all the reports are the same. Man with a gas mask and two hooks swords. Whoever this guy is, we need to bring him in."

The man with the cap shrugged. "That's one less criminal on the streets."

"That may be so, Officer Stryker," Briggs replied. "But that doesn't change the fact that this man is killing people. In one month, we've found ten men killed by a man with the same description." He took a seat in his chair. "Now, if this man were to keep these criminals alive, then I'd give him my full backing. However, I'd still have to bring him in. Vigilantism is illegal."

The blindfolded man spoke up. "So a guy is going around killing people. This man is also wearing a mask, and carries… what was it again?"

"Hook swords," Stryker commented.

"Thank you. A guy wearing a mask and carrying around hook swords. And I'm guessing you want us to bring him in?"

Briggs nodded in confirmation. "I'm not asking you. The commissioner is."

All three men shared a look of disgust. While they would never go to the public with this, they all hated the commissioner. Commissioner Gor Roh is corrupt to the core. He is the reason most criminals walk instead of serving their deserved times. He's got half the judges paid off from money given to him by the Rain. Hell, if they did go to the press about half the known crimes Gor Roh has committed, he'd just pound them into the dirt. Built like a linebacker, but with added steroids, he could kill anyone on this force bare handed. With all of the brown nosing he did, there is not any wonder as to how he got to be the commissioner.

Stryker asked, "And when do we begin?"

"Tomorrow," Briggs replied. "Tonight, you two can leave." He glanced at the clock. 7:55. "It's late, anyways. Get some rest. It's going to be a busy day."

Stryker nodded, and stood up. "Come on, Kenshi."

The man with the blindfold followed Stryker out the door, politely shutting it behind them. Briggs ran his hand over his head again, sighing to himself.

* * *

><p>Outside of the building, Kenshi and Stryker were walking down the street. Stryker said, "I don't why we can't just take a bus. I have the money. And tokens."<p>

"Buses are loud and annoying. You know how I get around loud noises," Kenshi replied.

"Clearly you've never heard yourself snore," Stryker mumbled.

"You do realize I can hear you, right?"

"…I'll never get used to that, will I?"

Kenshi shrugged. "Doubt it."

Stryker sighed. "Yeah. Hey, what are we having for supper?"

"It's your apartment, you find something to eat."

"Yeah, well-." Strker was interrupted when someone walking by bumped into him.

The man mumbled something, but kept walking. Adorned on his person was a brown trench coat, with his hands stuffed into his pocket. His short, black hair billowed in the wind. Stryker narrowed his eyes. Kenshi asked, "What?"

"Nothing. Guy's just a dick. Didn't even apologize."

"Yes, actually, he did. He just mumbled it."

Stryker scoffed. "Could've said it louder for the people who can't hear a pin drop in an IMAX theatre."

"Please, I can hear a pin drop during a Nuclear blast," Kenshi retorted.

"Have you ever tried that?"

"No, but that's the magic of hyperbole. It's supposed to be an exaggeration. That's the point," Kenshi replied.

They walked in silence for a few more minutes before Stryker asked, "You know what I don't get?"

"What?"

"How does Johnny Cage still get work?"

"I have no idea who that is."

"Exactly."


	2. Chapter 2

Kabal sat in his one bedroom apartment. It was dank, dirty, yet everything he needed. It was covered in darkness, the only light source illuminating the room came from the television. In his hand was his hook sword, with a stone running along the blade. Sparks occasionally emanated from it. It took a bit to clean the blood off, but that was coming with the territory nowadays, it seemed. Still, whenever he put the mask on, he felt that he had a goal in life, more than he ever did without the mask and trench coat.

The TV was currently on the news, speaking of his actions. It was currently a heated debate over if his actions were justified or not. He tried not to kill during the first month, but he kept seeing the same criminals committing the same crimes. It sickened him to his core, biting and gnawing at his insides. So, one day, when he was once again on patrol, he came across a man whom he put away. This man was a true monster. Not only did he enjoy the killings, the things he did to the bodies when he was done was… unsettling. Kabal thought back on that day three months ago. The first life he took…

* * *

><p><em>Kabal stepped into the house. It was brightly lit, very few shadows appearing. That made him nervous. Whenever a criminal had a house like this, they thought they had nothing to fear. As if they were untouchable. A few weeks ago, Kabal saw that this man, named Edward Jacob, had been released from prison, cleared of all crimes he committed. The controller the vigilante was holding in his hands when he saw that was shattered. The bodies started to appear soon after, all done with the same M.O. as Jacob's. <em>

_The creaking of the floorboards alerted Kabal that someone was upstairs. His head darted upwards, eyes narrowing into slits. A few days ago, a little girl was kidnapped. A girl named Elizabeth Shaw. She was thirteen years old. The masked vigilante was able to track Jacob down to this humble abode. It was easy. He didn't exactly make it difficult to find him. Hell, Jacob even showed the press his home the day of his release, claiming that he was starting with a clean slate. He showed that there was nothing to hide, nowhere to put any bodies. There was always a place._

_A bang upstairs caused Kabal to venture further. He turned the handle, opening the door to the staircase. He slowly made his way up the flight of stairs, a bead of sweat dripping down his forehead. When he caught Jacobs last time, the monster was about to bring his knife down on a little boy. Thankfully, Kabal was able to chuck a rock at the man's head in time. He doubted the boy got out of that situation without any mental scars._

_Once Kabal got to the top, he saw three doors. He estimated which room the noise came from. He chose the door closest to him, and peered into it. Edward Jacob was cleaning a knife. But that wasn't what got Kabal's attention. No, it was the little girl in the chair. She'd been dead for days, based on the rate of decomposition, but all of her clothes were missing. And Jacob was just standing there, whistling to himself as if this was some everyday occurrence._

_Filled with rage, Kabal kicked down the door, breaking off the hinges. Jacob looked at the vigilante in shock, dropping the still bloodied knife. Before the killer got a chance to react, Kabal seized him by the throat and slammed him down into the tray of tools. Sharp object scattered all over the floor, blood streaking the floor. Kabal grabbed Jacob by the hair and had him turn to face Elizabeth. He shouted, "Look at what you did!"_

_Jacob, too stunned to even comprehend what Kabal had just said, didn't respond. He was jarred back to the real world, however, when he was thrown back into a wall. He slid up the wall, but a knife embedded into his shoulder stop him. Kabal felt some blood splash onto his person, even some falling on the lens of his mask, but he didn't care. He took out another knife, and stabbed it in Jacob's other shoulder. Another scream filled the air. The vigilante opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn't find the words to do the situation justice. But Jacob had regained enough of his wit to plead. "Please, don't," Jacob cried. "I-I didn't mean to—I just found her like that, honest!"_

_Kabal raised a fist, but he couldn't punch the man. No, he deserved far worse. He lowered his fist, instead picking up a meat cleaver. He raised it over his head, read to bring it down on Jacob's head. Jacob once again tried to beg for his life. "I beg of you! Please!"_

_The blade slammed into his skull. It lodged itself firmly into Jacob's brain. Kabal turned to leave, but saw the little girl once again. An all new rage filled inside of him, as he turned back towards Jacob's body. Kabal pulled out the cleaver and slammed it back down into the murderer's head repeatedly. Blood splashed out of Jacob's skull, staining both the wall and Kabal's suit. It was done. Both Deacon and the world had one less monster to look out for._

_Once outside, he pulled out a phone and dialed 911. The operator answered. "911, what's your emergency__?"_

"_There's been a double murder. In the attic. Trace the call. The phone will still be on when you get here." He dropped the cellular device, and walked the rest of the way home._

* * *

><p>He threw the rock he was using to sharpen the blade across the room. Whenever he thought about that moment, he realized he would not have been able to stop all the crime in this city by letting those who kill live. They needed to be taught a lesson themselves. Kabal put the hook sword away, letting out a deep sigh.<p>

The TV began to show static, causing him to turn his attention towards it. After about half a minute, a figure appeared. He was dressed in a red hooded trench coat. The hood was pulled over his head, with was covered by a porcelain mask. The mask had a blank expression on its face. The man's arms were folded behind his back. Painted onto the black background was a single, red anarchy 'A'. Kabal tilted his head in confusion.

"Citizens of Deacon," the man spoke in a deep, baritone voice. "I am your salvation. For too long have you become oppressed by this wave of corruption and fear. There was once a time where you could set up a business anywhere in the city and no have to pay 'protection.'" He said the word with an air of disgust. "Not anymore. Starting in a week's time, you will have your freedom. To do as you wish in this once proud city. You will not have to fear people like Commissioner Gor Roh, the Rain, or anyone else that would do you harm. As a great man once said, the only thing you will have to fear is fear itself.

"You are all probably wondering what happened to your television viewing pleasures. Do not fear. They will be back on temporarily. But for now, let me give you a message. In a week's time, I will press a button. This button will blow up the source of greed. If you disable it, you will be rewarded. If you do not, my plan will move forward. Now, a message for the _commissioner._ You are not safe. There is no way that you will be able to escape this. I will kill you myself. I don't expect you to go down without a fight. In fact, I would be disappointed if you didn't. And to this masked vigilante roaming the streets. I admire your talents. I hope you will join me.

"Don't bother tracing this message. You will fail. Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming." With that, the figure disappeared, and the debate crew sat stunned. Kabal narrowed his eyes at the TV screen.

The cops are going to have a field day with this.

* * *

><p>"Get me a trace! I want this guy's head!"<p>

Jackson Briggs walked out of Commissoner Gor Roh's office, a frown on his face. It was only a few hours ago that the interruption on the TV appeared. And Gor Roh had been screaming at Briggs the entire time. He passed several officer jogging by before getting to his office. Once he stepped in, he saw Kenshi leaning on the wall in the corner and Kurtis Stryker sitting in the chair. Briggs ignored them both, and sat at his chair. He rubbed his temples and asked, "What do you two want?"

Stryker shrugged and said, "We were in the station when we, well, I saw the broadcast. Kenshi heard it." Even with the blindfold, Kenshi glared daggers into Stryker's head. "We figured that you would want us to do something."

"Actually, I do," Briggs confirmed. "Continue searching for the vigilante. Right now, the commissioner is sending a couple people to search the Deacon banks."

"Banks?" Kenshi asked.

"He said the source of greed. The banks hold money. That's what we're assuming, at least."

Stryker asked, "Do you think that's right?"

"I have no idea," Briggs admitted. "But I'm hardly in position to argue with my boss. So, go back to doing what you were supposed to be doing."

And with that, Kenshi hopped of the wall, and walked out, Stryker soon followed. Briggs rubbed his temples and sighed. This week just got even longer.

* * *

><p>Stryker stood at the coffee machine, gulping down his third cup. Kenshi raised an eyebrow and asked, "How many have you drank?"<p>

"One?" his partner meekly offered.

"No."

"Alright, fine. This is my third cup."

Kenshi's eyes widened in disbelief. "You've had three cups of coffee today?"

"Actually, I've had three cups in the past hour," Stryker corrected. "I've had ten pots today."

The swordsman jaw dropped. Ten cups of coffee today, and it wasn't even noon. "I only heard you drink four cups."

"I got up earlier today," Stryker replied. He took another guzzle, sighing as he finished it off. "You really should try some. It might help you 'see the outside world.'"

"Thanks, but my senses are overloaded enough from the smell," Kenshi admitted. He then crinkled his nose. "What'd you do, fill the entire filter to the brim?"

"Maybe." He put the cup down and said, "We should get going. See if we have any leads on this vigilante."

Kenshi nodded. "Where should we begin?"

"Witnesses, probably," Stryker affirmed. They turned to leave the coffee pot. "There are, by the last count, fifteen known witnesses, three of which have left town a few weeks ago. No point in hunting them down."

"And the others?" Kenshi asked as they walked to the front desk.

"Still in the city, but I doubt they're going to be that cooperative." Stryker took the folder that was offered to him by the receptionist. He flipped through its contents quickly. "I'd say start with the latest witness. Get any and all descriptions on this man. Who knows? This might end sooner than we think."

"So long as no anarchist gets in our way."

"True." They left the station, Stryker putting on a coat while Kenshi stuffed his hands in his pockets.

* * *

><p>Night again. His favorite time of day. The day was spent collecting his weapons. He buttoned up the coat he wore, and slipped on his mask. It hurt whenever he put it on, but it was a necessary precaution. No one could know who he was. It would make his job a hell of a lot harder than it already needed to be. He clasped his boots on, making sure they were secure. After putting on his gloves, he climbed out the window. He was directly by the fire escape, which made sneaking out easier. Dropping from his two story apartment to the ground floor hurt the first couple of times, but the pain dulled as time went on.<p>

After hearing the crunch of dirt as he hit the floor, Kabal looked around. His heavy breathing audible over the speeding cars on the nearby streets, he looked both ways to make sure it was safe. He rested his hands inside his pockets and walked out of the alleyway.


	3. Chapter 3

Kabal walked throughout the crowd. His mask was hanging off his belt. He didn't need to wear it yet. True, in a city this big, it wouldn't be too hard to be lost into the crowd even when you wear a mask. His hook sword handles, however, still showed loudly and proudly. Yet the people still didn't notice it. That was fine with Kabal. It made his job easier. His gloved hands were still planted firmly in his pockets, messing around with some loose change. It kept the hands busy while waiting for something to come up. Plus, he liked messing with change. He was standing in the hub of activity. Numerous screens were on the buildings, the largest showing a random news channel.

The one thing he was thankful to this masked hacker for was getting the cops off his back. It's been a quiet week. At least, for Kabal. For the cops both on his back and searching for the bombs, it was chaos. They let out the message that they had found the bomb, and were now stopping the searches. At least, that was what they told the public to keep a mass riot at bay. It was smart, but Kabal doubted that it was the truth. The little peons in the crowd right now were probably none the wiser that the cops had not found a damn thing in any of the banks.

Two cops that were searching for him were getting to be a real pain in the ass. Kabal wasn't sure about their names as of yet, but he narrowed down a few choices. He'd have one close call yesterday when he was taking down a mugger. The man wasn't even worth killing, Kabal was simply scaring him at that point. But two flashlights shown on him, forcing him to run. He didn't get a name or a face. But he knew there were two. Now, though, Kabal didn't worry. The crowd was too big for the cops to find him before he was able to run away. That thought made a small smile form on his lips.

But that masked hacker got him thinking. It claimed that it wanted Kabal to join him. But join him for what? Ruling Deacon City? That was a fool's errand, at best. But clearly this person knew what they were doing with the mass hack. This was not someone to be underestimated. And they were smart enough to realize that if they used their own voice they would be found almost immediately. So, they used a voice changer. That much was evident.

The crowd had gotten louder since he walked into it. Kabal figured it was because a week ago, the hacker had made a threat. It sounded more like a promise, but the cops didn't think so. They treated it as a threat, and only did the searches because, if they didn't, they'd be accused of inaction even if the bombs weren't real. The vigilante stopped when he notice a flicker on the largest of the screens. It was brief, not even a second long, but he saw it turn to black with an A on the screen. It seems a couple other people spotted it too, as they all turned their attention towards it. Soon enough, the entire center had turned to the black screen. But this time, standing there with his arms folded behind his back, was the masked man.

_"Hello, Citizens of Deacon. I hope you are having a nice day. You see, that's all I want._" He then stopped to breathe in deeply. _"But some people just want to ruin a good mood. I'm looking at the scum known as Commissioner Gor Roh, who claims that he has found one of my bombs. And it is true. I've lost contact with the big one, but that was never meant to go off anyway. It was decoy._" That got the crowd stirring. "_What do I look like, Gor Roh? An idiot? I knew that if I put my bombs in the banks when I sent my message, that you would find them. I always think six steps ahead of my competition, after all._"

He pulled out a small device with a single, blue button. "_What I hold in my hands is the detonator. It will activate each and every bomb that is currently still online. Now, you might be asking yourself,** commissioner**,"_ he said with disgust, "'_How are there any bombs left?' Well, that's the genius of it. Just this morning, ten of my followers have volunteered to make the ultimate sacrifice, one of body, but not soul. They will give their lives in pursuit of our goal. Do not think I forced this on them. In fact, I tried to tell them 'No.' But they didn't listen. They claimed that this was the best way, the only way, they would be able to make a difference. And now that I think about it, I agree. Their sacrifice will not be in vain. From my hideout, I can see many people running for the doors. It's useless, of course, I've already locked them. So, I bid you farewell_."

He pressed the button.

The ground beneath Kabal shook. The first thought, out of common sense, was that it was an earthquake. But then the explosions came. There were nine in total, all sending debris everywhere. Kabal and several others looked to their left. The Deacon City Bank. A few people in the crowd dropped to the ground, but most of them didn't notice the nearby bank. When the explosion hit, about half the standing crowd were thrown into the opposite building. Those that weren't were battered by debris. Shards of glass, wood, and cement hurled itself. Not even those that hit the floor were safe. A man, who was near Kabal, got his head crushed. Kabal's eyes had widened, and he rolled out of the way. A large block of cement and glass slammed into the spot he once was. When the explosion stopped and the debris was no longer flying, the survivors stood up.

Kabal looked around and surveyed the damage. Out of the crowd of one hundred, only ten people still stood, Kabal included. He looked back up at the screen to view the man shaking his head. He proclaimed, "_I am not happy killing all of these people, Gor Roh. It is a senseless loss of life, one that could have been avoided had you just played nicely, instead of using your power for your own personal gain instead of serving and protecting, like your oath says. Now, in a week's time, another bomb will go off, but where you may be asking? Well, you will have to answer that question yourself. What is the one place people cannot go without being shot dead on arrival by those who swear to protect you? Solve the question, or live under the democracy… of Anarky._" With that final statement, the screen flicked off the reveal the shocked look of the anchor.

Kabal narrowed his eyes. This was a problem. One that he couldn't fix alone.

* * *

><p>Police Commissioner Gor Roh slammed his fist onto his desk, splintering the wood. He was glaring daggers at Captain Briggs. Gor Roh was a rather large man, of Asian descent, and his eyes showed an anger unrivaled by any. He shouted, "You said you found the bomb, Briggs!"<p>

"We did," Jackson replied. "But, as he said, they were smart enough to plan ahead." Briggs was rather calm, all things considered about today. He was terrified inside. Although that was mainly because ten banks had blown up.

"You're complimenting them?" Gor Roh shouted. "The criminals who blew up ten banks is being complimented by the captain of the police force that failed to protect his city? Honestly, Briggs, I know you're not a fan of me, but to compliment him—!"

"I'm not 'complimenting them,' sir," Briggs replied. "I'm merely stating the obvious. Don't worry, we'll find the next one."

Gor Roh scoffed loudly. "He didn't exactly give a clear question, now did he? No, he didn't! There are plenty of places in this city you can get shot dead in!"

"But he said, 'By those who swear to protect us,'" Briggs replied. "He's talking about the police. Any place you know, sir?"

"No. But that's not my job." Gor Roh pointed at Briggs and hissed, "That _your_ job as police captain. Now get the hell out of my office and find the bombs."

Briggs narrowed his eyes at his superior, but did as he was told nonetheless. When he got to his own office, he once again found Kenshi and Stryker waiting for him. Briggs asked, "How is it you two know when I'm coming in here before I do?"

Kenshi shrugged. He was leaning against the wall like last time, but in his hands was a folder. Stryker was sitting in the chair with his feet propped up on the desk, but quickly dropped them when Briggs walked in. The swordsman claimed, "We found out a bit about our mysterious vigilante. I know with the bombs this might not be that big of a deal, but me and Kurtis figured that it was still noteworthy."

The captain took a seat and motioned for the folder. He flipped through the contents quickly. It contained a name. 'Kabal'. Briggs looked up at the both of them and asked, "Is this it?"

Stryker nodded and said, "You want us to go out looking for him?"

"No. The riots are bound to start soon, and we don't even have a clue as to how large the body count is," Briggs replied. He rubbed his temples furiously. "Honestly, I doubt he's going to want to go outside either. Probably get killed quicker than cops anyway."

"We could go outside undercover," Kenshi offered. "Granted a blindfold and a sword might tip a few people off."

"Exactly." The captain shook his head. "Just make yourselves comfortable here. We've got our best tech guys working on locating this terrorist. Anarchy, or something."

"That's actually a pretty fitting name, actually," Stryker commented. "'Anarky. With a 'K'."

Briggs looked at Stryker. "How do you know it's spelt with a 'k?'"

"I dunno, it just sounds cooler."

Kenshi rolled his eyes under his blindfold. "I'm going outside." When Briggs rose up, Kenshi placated him with a raised hand. "Don't worry. I'm keeping my badge here and I'll wear a pair of sunglasses."

Briggs sighed, but relented. "Just don't draw too much attention." Kenshi turned the door handle and walked out.

Stryker looked back at the door, then back at Briggs. "Do you got any coffee?"

Briggs glared at his officer, but pointed towards the coffee machine. A large smile lit up Stryker's face and he jumped towards the pot of caffeine filled goodness.


	4. Chapter 4

Kabal turned the corner quickly. There was a mass panic on his hands. A small riot here or there was fine, he expected it, but this wasn't just one or two riots. There were several large masses attacking the streets with torches, guns, everything. It's been an hour since the banks blew. How did they get those guns already? He obtained the answer once he saw the nearest gun shop's window smashed to pieces. Almost all of the firearms were missing, save a few broken shotguns and pistols. From his position on the streets, he saw that further down the road, a line of people were approaching him. Well, not exactly him, but it was his location.

He ran into a nearby alley, watching as a car passed by on fire, with someone still driving. Kabal turned his head questionably, but decided to ignore the car afterwards. He found a ladder leading up to the roof. It was rusty, and he doubted it would hold his weight. But the streets were no longer safe.

Kabal dashed towards the ladder, grabbing the first rung. It creaked in protest, and continued to do so as Kabal grabbed the other rungs. Just as he got to the top, several bolts popped out of the top. His eyes widened in shock. Kabal ascended on the rungs as quickly as he could, but as he climbed, more and more bolts popped out. The ladder fell backwards, Kabal grabbing on for dear life. Thankfully, the alleyway was quite narrow. The ladder became lodged between the two buildings. The vigilante gave a small sigh of relief as he grappled to the other side of the ladder.

Once he got to the top of the roof, he looked down at the streets. He watched as a man dragged a woman into the shadows, hearing her screams. He saw a group of men and women throwing Molotov cocktails into random buildings. It seemed that all it took was a couple bombs to throw a city into a mass riot. In less than an hour, actually. It didn't exactly fill one with a lot of hope for the way humanity processed attacks by masked terrorists. Although, to be fair, that wasn't a common occurrence in life. Not many people would prepare for this large of an attack.

During this thought, he heard footsteps approaching. Kabal's hand quietly made its way to his sword. Moving quickly, he took out the hooked blade, and pointed it at his stalker, who was a man with a… blindfold on? Looking a bit more closely, it was apparent from this man's apparel that he was a cop. But he did his best to hide that fact. The only way Kabal knew was from the badge around his neck being jostled out of its hiding place.

He moved around the blindfolded man, who kept his attention forward. The vigilante asked, "How did you find me?"

"It wasn't hard, Kabal."

Wait, what? "How do you know my name?" Kabal demanded furiously, but kept his voice level. He was now on the man's right side, the hook sword not drooping an inch.

"We did some digging on you." He then paused for a second. "My partner and I, that is. We still haven't found much, and we only told our captain."

"You told the captain? Don't you realize he's on the take?"

"Briggs?" The man sounded genuinely confused. "No, a few of us aren't on the take, him included. My partner as well."

"So?" He was now facing the cop's back, his sword still leveled at him. "You're a cop. You need to take orders from your superiors. And I'm guessing they want you to take me in." He stopped when he saw the katana on the cop's back. That certainly wasn't standard issue for a police officer.

"I'm not bringing you in because my superiors told me too." He then turned to face Kabal, who stepped back slightly. "I'm bringing you in because you've broken the law."

The vigilante snorted. "You can try."

But before he could react, a fist was sent into his gut. Kabal doubled over in surprise and pain. He looked back up at the cop, who was now pulling out his sword. He said calmly, "We can still do this the easy way."

Kabal then picked up the dropped sword, whipping the other out of its holder. His trench coat billow in the wind, as well as the cops blindfold tails. For a brief moment, neither moved. Then, they charged.

Kabal lashed out first, swinging both swords in the cop's direction. The officer blocked both weapons, kneeing the vigilante in the stomach. The cop then brought down his sword, but the masked man blocked it by crossing his swords. They both stood like that for a few seconds, both struggling to get some form of leverage on the other.

The cop broke the struggled by jumping back, letting Kabal swipe at empty air. A slight snarl form on his lips. How the hell was a man with a blindfold this good? How did he even see? The cop slid his katana back in its sheath, before getting into a fighting stance Kabal didn't recognize. Well, if the cop did not want to use swords, fine.

That did not mean Kabal was going to. Taking a deep breath, he charged at the cop with astonishing speed. The cop could not even react to this speed. Hooking his blade on the scabbard, Kabal spun the cop around for a brief moment. When the spinning ended, the cop staggered slightly. And yet he was able to dodge Kabal's next attack. The officer sent an elbow into Kabal's back, forcing him to drop his blades. He then fell to the floor with a loud _oomph._

This was something Kabal did not expect to happen today. Getting his ass handed to him by a man with a blindfold. To him, the bombing of most banks was more probable than that. Footsteps drew his attention to the blindfolded man. Kabal formulated a plan. When the cop got next to Kabal, the masked vigilante used his speed to trip the cop up. As the man was falling to the floor, Kabal grabbed the hilt of the katana.

He had it pulled out before the cop hit the ground. Kabal raised it into the air, ready to bring it down onto the police officer. Just as it was inches to his face, the cop snapped both hands against it, stopping it just in time. For a brief moment, Kabal did not apply force. He just stared at the cop in surprise. The cop took that moment to wrench the blade from Kabal's grasp.

As he did this, the vigilante had regained his wits. He smashed his fist against the cop's jaw sending him to the ground sprawling. The cop got to his hands and knees, but a hand grabbed his hair and slammed his face into the ground.

He was then turned over to his back. Kabal had his right fist raised, and his other hand went for the blindfold. He ripped it off quickly. It took a moment to ingest the fact that this man had no pupils to speak off, but had the faint blue outline that showed where his irises used to be. Kabal came to a realization. He was fighting a blind man.

The cop's brows furrowed, and he slammed his forehead against Kabal's nose. The officer got to his feet, grabbed his adversary's head, and sent it into his knee. Kabal jerked upright, swaying slightly. Before he knew it, the back end of a boot smashed into his face, plunging his world into darkness.

* * *

><p>As Kabal dropped to the ground, Kenshi did the same. He did not do so to pass out, but he was exhausted. And the pain was finally getting to him. The last thing he expected was to get into a fight. Hell, he did not even want to. But, it was plenty obvious that Kabal was not going to go quietly. So, Kenshi surprised him. Because that worked out so well. True, the cop was dominating for most of the fight, but if the vigilante had not hesitated when he took off Kenshi's blindfold, the officer had little doubt he would have lost.<p>

Although the fact that he was punched in the jaw and had his face slammed into solid concrete was not the only reason he was tired. At the end, without his sword, he had to call onto his sixth sense to pinpoint just where Kabal was exactly. Despite the gift that sense gave him, it was always tiring whenever he used it. He was just so happy he had not thrown up this time. That was never a good time.

Kenshi begrudgingly got to his feet. Thankfully, no matter what, his Sword of Sento was always visible to him, as well as a few inches of the building around it. He picked it up, getting some sense of where everything was. He then walked over to his blindfold, wrapping it around his eyes tightly. Taking out a pair of handcuffs, he put them on Kabal as he sat back down to the ground.

The blind swordsman rubbed his temples gently. He felt a massive headache coming along. Super. He fell to his back, breathing deeply. He took out his communicator attached to his vest. He pressed the button and called out, "Stryker, you there?"

"_Kenshi? Where are you?_"

"I'm not entirely certain. But I've got Kabal handcuffed on the top of a roof."

"_Why are you on a roof?_"

"Because the streets aren't safe anymore. Have you looked outside?"

"_Hold on. Let me look._" The sounds of footsteps made its way through the communicator. "_Oh. Yeah, it's pretty bad out there. Why would you go out there?_"

"Because it wasn't that bad when I walked out of the damn building, Kurtis. I'll be back in a little bit."

"_Just make it back safely. God knows, I don't want to file for a new partner._"

"I'm happy you care so much about me." Kenshi dropped his hands to the ground. Now... how the hell was he going to get back to the station?

* * *

><p>Stryker closed the blinds and looked back at the captain. "Kenshi's on his way."<p>

Briggs nodded, not looking up from the television. It was replaying the last Anarky message. Stryker hated it. They didn't have a name, a location, hell, they did not even have a gender to put on this character. Everyone was just referring to this guy as male, since the voice sounded like one. Then again, it could be a voice changer. There was an incident when Kenshi first started working as an officer, but that was a story for a different time. It was also nowhere near as disastrous as this.

"…_Well, you will have to answer that question yourself. What is the one place people cannot go without being shot dead on arrival by those who swear to protect you? Solve the question, or live under the democracy… of Anarky."_

The DVD automatically started over. _"Hello, Citizens of Deacon. I hope you are having a nice day. You see, that's all I want…"_

Stryker asked, "Figure out anything new yet?"

The captain shook his head. He slammed his fist down onto the desk, causing his fellow officer to jump at the loud bang. It was quite evident that he was mad. A vain was about ready to burst at the top of his bald head, pulsating quickly. Stryker wanted to make a joke, but it would be a quite uncomfortable time. Instead, he just took another sip from his coffee.

Tonight was going to be a long, stress filled night for the both of them. Outside, an explosion tore through the city. Stryker mumbled to himself, "If this keeps up, Anarky won't have to blow up another building." He paused to finish off his beverage. "These people will do it for him."

Briggs heard what his co-worker had to say. "Then he'll have his city all to himself."

* * *

><p>"<em>Look, I don't care what you have to do, Gor, just figure it out."<em>

The police commissioner, Gor Roh, rubbed his forehead. His other hand was gripping"Look, Rain, I don't know what I can do. This Anarky guy, he's crippled the city, and it's only been an hour since he blew up the buildings. What about you? Are you safe?"

"_So you do care about me. I'm touched."_

"I couldn't give a rat's ass about you, but I do like having money."

"_Heh. Figured. Yes, I'm perfectly healthy here in my humble abode. The security is working diligently at keeping these anarchist at bay."_

"It's going to put a dent in his plans."

"_Don't worry about _him_. He's not even in the city. All you need to do is send out your men to calm these folks down."_

"They'll be calm once this guy is found. Until then, I'm not sure what any of us can do."

"_Well who the hell is working the case?"_

"Briggs."

"_Well then, why are you worrying?"_

"Because he's a boy scout. Instead of killing this guy, he'll probably just bring him in."

"_Trust me, Gor, after all Anarky's done, I have little doubt that he'll be put to death. Just stay calm, send out SWAT, and get this problem fixed."_

"Alright. Goodbye."


	5. Chapter 5

_One year ago,_

_Kabal dropped onto the ceiling of a warehouse. He crept his way towards the single skylight of the building. He pulled out his binoculars and looked into the room. There were five men, two of which were on their knees, begging and pleading. The center man, short black hair, a goatee, leather jacket, held a gun to the left man's head. A single thought ran through his head. _Kano. _He pulled out a listening device and place it against the window._

_Kano pulled back the trigger of his gun. The man fell to the ground, a bloody hole now formed on his head. The warm liquid puddled up around the man's body, a trickle running down his cheek. It wasn't a large hole by any means, but it was open enough. Blood stained the man's white collared shirt, as well as the black vest he wore. An expression of both shock and fear was etched onto the dead man's face._

_Kano chuckled at the dead man for several seconds before moving on, pointing the gun to the next man. The quivering victim was silently pleading, his hands folded and begging not to be killed. He pleaded, "Please, please, please. I-I didn't mean it! I-I'll have the money for you by tomorrow, I promise!"_

_A grin appeared on Kano's face as he kneeled in front of the man. "Trust me, mate, I believe you. But the thing is, my boss, he doesn't like those who pay late. He needs to collect… interest." The Australian drawl was clearly present in his voice, as he took out a butterfly knife from the strap on his leg. He twirled it in his hands and said, "You see, I consider myself a nice guy." Kano noticed the quivering man looking behind past him. He turned his attention back to the corpse. "Oh, that." He looked back at the man. "You see, he just wasn't complying so I had to put that bullet in his head._

"_You on the other hand, still have a small, insignificant chance of surviving." Kano trace the knife against the man's neck, drawing a droplet of blood. "Now, all you need to do is open that safe behind you…" He pointed to the picture next to them. "…open it, and then take out the money. It's that simple." Kano grabbed the man's hair, and pulled him closer. "Got that?"_

_The man nodded nervously. The Australian man threw him over towards the painting, where he slowly removed the picture from the hook on the wall. Silently turning the lock, the vault opened, revealing several large stacks of money. Kano whistled. "Nice, very nice." He smashed the back of his knife against the man's head, dropping him to the ground. "Alright, boys, get the cash, load it up, and get the hell out of here."_

"_Where are you going, boss?" One of the goons asked._

_Kano turned to face the goon, a grin still etched on his face. "Just do it." He then moved past the goons and out the door._

_Above the four men, Kabal slid one of his swords out, raising it. He brought it down on the glass._

* * *

><p>A loud crash echoed through the room, yanking Kabal into consciousness. He shook his head, getting rid of the dizzy spell that had come over him. He looked out the window of the strange room he was in, noticing a group of teenagers destroying a car. Wait… Where was he? The last thing he had remembered was climbing on top of the building and then…<p>

Oh.

Oh, no.

He looked around the room, noting the newspaper clippings and the map of Deacon with numerous pins poked into the paper. Sitting about ten feet to his right was a desk, an ash tray carrying a fresh cigarette, a coffee mug, and a name plate stating who the desk belonged to. Captain Jackson Briggs. Although the "-son" was etched off, only showing "Jacks." His arms and legs were tied, allowing only his hands and head to move around. Then, when moving his attention over the desk again, he noticed something rather important.

His mask.

A few thoughts ran through his head at that moment. First of all was that his identity would be released to the public, most likely forcing him to abandon his hideout. He also saw his blades in the corner. He looked around for anything that might help him in his escape. Another thought was how did he get here? Was it possible for that one cop to drag him from the rooftop all the way to DCPD headquarters?

When the door opened, he glared in its direction. A large, African-American man stepped through the doorway, holding a folder. He stopped when he saw Kabal awake. The man then slowly closed the door, walking over to his desk and sat down, taking a sip from his mug. He made a face into the cup and said, "It's cold."

"What?" Kabal asked, confused as to why the police captain would bring up something like that.

"The coffee," Briggs stated. He set the mug down and flipped through the folders.

"I know what you mean," Kabal replied. "Why am I here?"

Briggs took out a piece of paper, put his chin in his hand, and said, "Twelve counts of murder, thirteen reports of breaking and entering, and over fifty assaults. Now, most of these are aimed towards criminals, but they are still crimes."

"And I'm not in a holding cell because…?"

"Because I'm willing to make you a deal, Kabal." When the vigilante narrowed his eyes, Briggs smiled lightly. "Don't worry, I'm not going to release your name." He then took a look out the window as the sky seemed to be a blood red color. "Not that it would do any good anyways. Besides, you're still in shadow anyway. I haven't even seen your face. Only one of my men have."

He'll admit, Kabal felt a little better about that fact. But it still held that someone had seen his face. He would have to investigate further down the road. Instead he asked, "What do you have in mind, Captain Briggs?"

"I'm going to have a couple of my men work with you." He replaced the document in the folder and closed it. He looked back up at Kabal, continuing. "The three of you will go find this 'Anarky,' put a stop in his plan, and bring him in."

Kabal looked over to his swords. "And what do I get in return?"

"Freedom."

The vigilante looked to the ground. He growled something unintelligible before conceding. "Fine. But the minute this guy is in a prison cell, you won't get another chance to put me on trial, you know that. Right?"

Briggs smiled lightly. "We'll see about that." He took out a knife and cut the bonds that held Kabal to the chair. He handed the vigilante the gas mask, who swiped it into his hands quickly. He slid it over his face, and stepped into the dim light. Briggs handed Kabal the hook blades, who put them back into their holders.

"The commissioner know about this?" The now masked vigilante asked.

"Doesn't know a thing, and honestly, I don't plan on telling him. If he did find out about your identity, he would stop at nothing to kill you."

Kabal grinned under his mask. "I'm so happy you care about me."

"I don't," Biggs affirmed. "I just want to make sure you go to jail for your crimes. That's the way things are going to go down."

Staring out the window, Kabal sighed. "I used to be like you, once." He walked towards the window, looking down at a group of men beating the hell out of each other. "I used to believe in the system, like letting the criminals live meant I was different than them." Shaking his head, he continued. "But then, a man walked out of jail, free of charges, never to go to court. He was a convicted rapist, pedophile, and murderer. I put him there.

"And the evidence against him was damning. It should've put him away for life, if not put him in the chair. But your _commissioner_? He thought this man was too valuable to die, so he paid the judges, the juries, hell, the fucking lawyers to let him go. And you know what the piece of scum that I put in there did? He had the balls to claim he was rehabilitated. So, when he killed again, I found him, and I gave him a piece of his own medicine."

Briggs just stood there, unmoving. Kabal continued. "That gave me a wake-up call. These pieces of scum, they deserve to be put down like the dogs they are, and when my work is finished… I'll put myself down. But as far as I'm concerned, this won't be finished anytime soon, and I still have a lot of work to do."

Kabal, without another word, jumped down the window, and landed in between the warring group. He grabbed the nearest man, and threw him into another. Three others noticed this. Looking amongst themselves, they knew who the common enemy was in this little get-together. They rushed Kabal, who easily avoided the first punch, sending one of his own into the leader's jaw. He then blocked the next punch, kicking the man away. He grabbed the final man, tossing him over his shoulder to the ground.

By this point the rest of the group had noticed the masked lunatic. The ten men rushed him, but most stopped when he brandished his blades. Only two others actually tried to fight Kabal. He hooked his blade around the first man's leg, tripping him up. He elbowed the other man in the stomach before leveling his blade at his throat.

"You're going to go home now, aren't you?"

The man nodded.

"You're _all_ going to go home now, _**right**_?!"

The rest of the group darted away from the masked man, leaving only the man underneath him. The man tried to crawl away, but Kabal pulled him back. "You're not going yet," Kabal hissed. He pulled down the man's shirt, showcasing an anarchy 'A' symbol. "You're going to tell me everything I want to know about Anarky, aren't you?"

Next to him, a group of window televisions flashed to life, or those that were not broken anyway, showing Anarky in his full glory. "Actually, Kabal, he is not. I predicted you would know which of these 'rioters' were my men, and I was not disappointed, let me tell you. You exceeded even my expectations, which is no easy feat, I guarantee. That being said, I put in a contingency effect. I'm sorry, Anarkist 874, but I'm afraid you've outlived your usefulness."

Underneath Kabal, the man began contorting violently. Foam began pouring out of his mouth, before the contortion stopped suddenly. "Ahaha, aaah, that always fills me with happiness when I watch a stupid man such as that die."

"You sonuvabitch," hissed the masked vigilante, dropping the now dead Anarkist.

"No need for that kind of language." Anarky then snapped his fingers, suddenly realizing something, "Oh, I forgot to mention something during my last speech. Hang on, Kabal." The hacker walked off screen for several seconds. He then returned, asking off screen, "Are we almost ready? Five seconds? Alright. Ahem."

His tone became more serious than before, announcing, "Hello Citizens of Deacon. I know I said I would be back in a week, but I needed to make a quick announcement. I can see everything. I can hear everything. I also know everything. I know about Mrs. Darby cheating on her husband, little Timmy stealing from the candy store last week, and I know that Ed Tobias has been keeping a lot of secrets as of late. So don't make plans that I'm not involved in making. I'll know, and I'll put an end to them before you can even finish. Goodbye."

Yet his image did not leave the television Kabal was viewing. "Are you scared? Feeling alone? Well, I hope not, as Officer Kurtis Stryker and Kenshi are going to assist you in 'attempting' to stop me. And to think, you almost had some valuable information had I not intervened. Anarkist 874 was my third lieutenant. I'm guessing you could've found something out about me, like my precious little hideout. I'll give you a hint."

The anarchist leaned in closer. "I'm in the city. But where? Information you will have to find out yourself." The televisions flickered off just before Kabal threw a fist into the center TV. He held it in there for a moment, taking several deep breaths.

When his fist exited the set, he walked away, placing his blade back in its strap.

* * *

><p>High above the city, in a penthouse, was a man sitting at a table. He was large, balding, and dressed in a pressed tuxedo. His bow tie was bright red, and what little hair there was on his head was combed over. Sitting across from him was another man dressed in a purple suit, with a head of long, black hair tied in a ponytail.<p>

To the right of both of them was a small waterfall display, making a light trickling sound. A large picture of the purple suited man sat behind against the wall, showing him smiling proudly.

Gor Roh grimaced. "It's getting to be too much, Rain. Three days. And we still can't figure out who this man is or where he is."

"This is bad for business, Gor," Rain announced with a slight Brooklyn accent. He stood up and walked over to his painting. "You need to find a way to stop him. Hell, I'll call in the National Guard if I have to. Just stop him."

"Like I haven't tried to call the government. That hacker was able to jam all communications. Briggs has been working his ass off just to find out a shred of evidence on him. All he's found is a name, and he's just assuming that."

Rain pressed his palm on a section of the wall. The area pressed inward, and soon, the entire wall unfolded to reveal a secret room. It was possibly the cleanest area in the entire city. There was a single swivel chair, but a large computer with blinking lights was present.

The crime lord walked in, followed closely by Gor Roh. "You're not seriously going to bring him _here_, are you?" The commissioner demanded.

Rain took a seat in the chair, swiveling around for a minute. "That's your problem, Gor. You don't think big. With his power, he can set this little problem of ours right as _rain._"

"That was a terrible pun."

"Deal with it, I'm paying you thousands." Rain took his purple jacket off, leaving himself in only a purple vest and a golden dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He flipped two switches before turning a knob. Three red lights went off above their heads.

Gor Roh snorted. "He might receive the message instantly, but how long until he arrives?"

Rain shrugged. "Could be days, hell, could be months. But, you and me, we just have to survive that amount of time."

"Where the hell are we going to do that?"

Rain chuckled lightly. "Look where you are," he proclaimed. "This place is a fucking fortress! Nothing is going to touch this place, got it?"

"_Well, well, looks like a couple of overconfident morons_," a voice called out.

Both men's attention snapped around the room, attempting to pinpoint the location of whoever called out.

The voice said, "_Now, how exactly do you expect to survive when your biggest threat knows your location, hmm?_"

Rain bolted into the meeting room, shouting, "Listen here, you little punk! I don't know who you are, nor do I personally care! You are going to die, do you hear me?!"

"_No need to shout, Prince Rain_," the voice claimed with a slight chuckled. "_I could hear you and your little lackey over there when you were talking about bringing someone here. Now, who this is I have no idea, which is surprising. He must be quite the secret_."

"I can tell you anything you wanna know, bastard! Just come to this room, and we can talk men to punk," Gor Roh piped in for a raving Rain.

"_Hmm,"_ Anarky pondered. "_Well, as tempting as that offer is, I have a better one. We can discuss the future of this city in private, in my own headquarters."_

"If you think we're going to go to your '_headquarters'_ alone, then you must be even more batshit crazier than I thought," Rain hissed.

"_It's not like you have any form of choice in the matter, because if you don't, then I will happily blow your building up, with all of you, including Cindi, in it."_

"Who's Cindi?" Gor Roh asked.

_"The receptionist," _Anarky called out. "_And I have to admit, it would break my heart, as she is quite the looker._"

"Which one of us?" Rain asked through gritted teeth.

"_Both of you. Oh, don't get me wrong. You will both die. And soon, but, I am willing to free this city in exchange for your lives. That will redeem the both of you in the eyes of this city. You have, oh, I don't know, four days to decide. That seem fair? Good."_

"You piece of shit!" Rain screamed at the top of lungs. "When I get my hands on you-!"

"_I'll be in touch."_

And without another word, a click resonated through the room. Rain was taking deep breaths, his shoulders move up and down. Gor Roh took out a handkerchief and rubbed his forehead with it. "Well," he mumbled. "This is an interesting turn of events."

Rain turned his head towards his lackey, his pupils as small as a pin. He pushed Gor Roh aside, before storming into another room.

* * *

><p>AN: Been a while since I've made an author note. Ahem. Anyway.

Just wanted to throw this out there. Technically (okay, there is no technically) Anarky is not mine. It's DC's. Partly. The name is ripped straight from DC, as well as the hooded porcelain mask from Arkham Origins. The red long coat is from me, though, since that Anarky was dressed in Winter gear. Clearly this doesn't take place in Winter. Plus, this Anarky is a genius hacker, yet slightly arrogant. That Anarky was a anarchist wanting to reform Gotham. While the two goals are the same, as well as the means, this one is far more sinister, as actually planning ahead instead of being an idiot and just planting the bombs early.

So, yes, Anarky is only a fourth mine. Still more than Revolver. Speaking of which, I should probably get back to his story... *eyebrows slowly raise as devilshly handsome smile appears*

Spino, out.


	6. Chapter 6

"_Wakey, wakey."_

_Kabal's eyes slowly opened. When he fully woke up, he tried to jolt up right. He failed as he found himself tied to the bed. It was an unfamiliar setting. He wasn't in his apartment, his swords weren't hanging on the wall, the only source of light was coming from the blinds on the windows and his mask was dangling in front of his face. His attention moved from the mask to the man holding the mask._

_Kano._

_This was the first time in three years that Kabal had been up close and personal to the Australian criminal. He's changed his appearance slightly. A beard now covered his chin, his hair was shorter, but there was one thing that remained the same. That right eye. Due to some birth defect, Kano was born with two eye colors. A brown left eye and a red right eye. Now, Kabal didn't know the specifics of the science of that, but it gave Kano a distinctive look._

_Back to the present, Kano was chuckling while swinging the mask around with the strap. He joked, "Well, lookey here. It's been some time, Kadeem. Why, if I didn't know better, you was going to try to save these little piggies." He then shook his head condescendly. "Such a shame you didn't even get to save him. When we knocked you out, we dragged him out back and put him out of his misery. Oh, you should've seen his face when I slid my knife across his neck, the blood pouring down his neck. Pure comedy gold. Don't you agree, Kadeem?"_

"_That's not my name," Kabal declared._

_Kano raised a brow and leaned back. "What?"_

"_Kadeem. You called me Kadeem."_

"_You are so deep into denial that you don't even admit your own name." Kano let out a loud chuckle, before holding a knife to Kabal's neck. The grin that was on the criminal's face was replaced with a snarl. "Now, I don't care who you say you are, Kadeem," he growled. "But that doesn't change the fact that you betrayed us."_

_Kabal, struggling to push his neck further into the bed, replied, "Do you remember what we did, Kano? Who we were sent to kill?"_

"_Of course. I remember that day as clear as day. When you shot me in the back." Kano then whistled again. "That damn near hit my spine. Ah, back then, when the Red Dragon was still a thing, those were the good ol' days. When me and you could kill a couple of them, no regret, and start a massive shootout in the streets._

"_But enough about the good times," the criminal declared loudly. "In those three years you disappeared, I've been working out ways to pay you back for the bullet. Now, I could just shoot you," Kano contemplated. "But, the thing is, when time builds, so does interest. And, well, three years' worth of interest is quite a bit, don't you agree?"_

_Kabal, mustering up enough strength from his drowsy body, let loose a wad of spit. The saliva landed square in Kano's discolored eye. The Black Dragon jerked back, wiping his eye with his left hand. He the threw a fist at Kabal's face, knocking a tooth out of place. He then grabbed a handful of hair before bringing his knife closer. "Know, I know you ain't gonna be scared of what I'm about to do to ya," Kano growled. "But I think it might even scare me."_

_He then laughed as he brought the knife to above Kabal's right eye. The tied up man attempted to struggle, but the only thing that earned him was the knife going deeper into his skin. After a minute, he finally let out a scream._

* * *

><p>Kabal jerked awake abruptly. Another nightmare again. He noticed that he was drenched in sweat. But that wasn't what worried him. His hand shot up to his face, feeling the cold metal of his mask. Oh, yeah. He was at the police headquarters. Sleeping in a cell. Next to a bunch of criminals. Now, for them to be locked up here, they were undoubtedly small time crooks, not worth the trouble of killing. Still, it could be fun if he beat some lessons into them.<p>

He sat up on the slab that was called a bed, cracking his back. If there was one thing he hated, it was a stiff back. It was one of he thinks he couldn't stand, but it would be a personal pain he would have to experience for now. He grabbed the hook swords from the corner, swinging them into his holsters before opening the cell door. A chorus of threats were hurtled at him. Normally it wouldn't bother him, but he was feeling particularly irritable today. He stomped over to the nearest inmate, grabbed him by the collar, and pointed to another cell.

"Do you want what happened to that man to happen to you?" Kabal growled.

The inmate looked past the vigilante's shoulder to the cell, where a man cradling two broken ribs, a broken nose, and a fractured femur bone. The inmate then looked back at Kabal before shaking his head. The masked men shouted to the rest, "How about the rest of you?!"

He was met with a round of "no's."

Dropping the inmate, he turned his back to the cell block. "That's what I thought."

The sound of his footsteps soon faded. When they did, another prisoner turned to his cellmate. "That is one scary man." The cellmate nodded in agreement.

* * *

><p>Kenshi listened on as Stryker poured another cup of coffee. The brunette shook his head, claiming, "You really need to quit."<p>

The blond turned his attention to his friend, taking a sip of his caffeinated drink. After finishing the mug, he replied, "No, I shouldn't. Plus I get headaches when I do try to quit." Moving over to the pot again, he continued. "Besides, it's not like I'm addicted to cigarettes or alcohol, or something like that."

"I guess," Keshi conceded. He then heard a set of footsteps coming towards them. "Captain Briggs is on his way."

Stryker quit pouring long enough to ask, "Are you sure it's him?"

"Pretty sure," the swordsman affirmed.

A moment later, he was proven right as Briggs walked next to them, shaking his head at Stryker. "You know," the police captain stated, "You're the reason that we have to pay so much for coffee." He then turned to Kenshi. "But I'm not here to condemn Kurtis's drinking habits. I _am_ here to discuss the Commissioner's whereabouts."

"Yeah, I haven't seen him for a few days," Stryker reported. He guzzled the cup before placing it on the desk next to them. "I saw him walk out the back door."

"Probably to talk with Rain," Kenshi mussed. He reached into his pocket and pulled out an energy bar. Offering it to Briggs, asked, "Want one?"

The captain shook his head, turning to face Stryker again while Kenshi munched on his snack. "We need someone to look for him."

"Can't you just send Merkel? Isn't he here?" Stryker whined.

"He's on assignment with Sonya. They're not even on the continent, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. Now I do."

"I'm going down to the holding cells to discuss our plans with Kabal."

A voice behind them announced, "You don't need to."

Briggs and Stryker whipped around to face the vigilante, but Kenshi just took another bite out of his bar. He raised the bar as a greeting before getting back to his snack. Kabal nodded and stated, "I've already decided what to do next."

"And what's that?" Stryker asked, moving towards his mug to refill it. His partner threw the wrapper away.

"We storm Rain's tower."

Kurtis Stryker dropped his mug in shock. Kenshi stood slack jawed. Briggs placed his palm to his face, a face-palm, if you will. "You cannot be serious," he muttered.

"Think about it," Kabal commanded. "Anarky said the next target would be a place where civilians would be shot on sight. By the ones they trust no less. Who does Rain have in his pocket more than anyone else?"

"The cops?" Kenshi offered.

"Exactly," Kabal replied, tossing him a bag of skittles. "Taste the rainbow."

Kenshi fumbled with it for second, unsure it this was condescending or the closest thing to a congratulations he was getting from Kabal. Nevertheless, he opened the bag and popped a few pieces of candy into his mouth, content with his prize. He offered some to Stryker, who took them greedily, only to get his hand slapped by Kenshi when he took too much.

Both Kabal and Briggs watched with interest for a few moments before turning to each other. "How many men can you trust that are here, right now?"

"With Sonya Blade and Merkel gone, I trust you more than most of the people here right now. In fact, you are now looking at the two most trustworthy men in the building," Briggs announced proudly. His mood change when he saw Kenshi slapped Stryker upside the head for taking more Skittles than necessary. Briggs looked back to Kabal and meekly added, "Perhaps that's not as good of a thing as I make it out to be."

"Hey!" Stryker called out, slightly offended.

Kabal interrupted them by claiming, "We don't have time for this! It's been almost a week since Anarky last made that message. If we don't go now, we chance a lot of people dying."

"Question," Stryker announced. "Aren't most of the guys in there bad, or something?"

"That may be," Briggs agreed. "However, if we do just let Anarky blow up Rain's tower, we concede. But we can't just storm the tower," he told Kabal.

The vigilante sighed. Stryker then asked, "Hey, where is everyone? Is it safe for Kabal to just, you know, be walking about?"

"Yeah," Kenshi agreed. "It does seem pretty weird that no one is calling us out right now."

Briggs stated, "When Gor Roh went missing, most of the men loyal to him left. I'm just happy that the inmates aren't doing the same thing and splitting."

"Good thing we have electricity," Kenshi mused while Styrker picked up the shards of his dropped coffee mug. The swordsman asked, "Alright, what next?"

"Don't know," Briggs admitted. "I have't thought that far ahead. What about you, Kabal? Got any good idea?"

"It's gotta be something crazy," Kabal added.

Once Kurtis was done throwing the mug away, he proclaimed, "I have a plan."

"What is it?" Briggs asked.

"Alright, me and Kenshi will distract most of the guards in the lobby, basically shooting up the place. While that bit of madness is going on, you two will sneak off through a side entrance. Once there, you take out any guard you see, making sure to remain unseen, otherwise I doubt Kenshi and I can keep the others occupied. Seem like a plan?"

"I can point out about a thousand holes in that so-called 'plan,'" Kabal commented.

Briggs then added, "But it's the best one I can think of at the moment. We'll go with your plan Kurtis."

"Really? I'm sure with a bit more preparations, you three can have a far better plan," Stryker stated.

"The bomb will be going off today. We can't waste anymore time. Get ready," Briggs replied.

Kabal shrugged, simply stating, "You're the captain."

"Right," Briggs agreed. "Kenshi, Stryker, go to the armory and get some guns."

"What about you two?" Kenshi asked, his arms crossed with him leaning against the wall.

Briggs took out his service revolver and checked to see if it had full ammo. When he was sure there were six bullets he closed the revolver before placing it back in his holster. "Me and Kabal are going on a stealth mission. More guns means more weight."

"And more weight means we become slower," Kabal added. He took out a knife from a sheath on his leg, checking its sharpness. "We need to be as fast as possible in order to get in and get out." He slid the knife back into its holder. "Hopefully, both Rain and Gor Roh will be there."

"Well, one can only hope," Stryker said. He slapped Kenshi's shoulder, a signal to say, "Let's go." The swordsman followed him, yet his arms were still crossed the entire way to the armory.

Just as Kabal was leaving, Briggs held his arm out. "Wait," the captain ordered. "I want to ask you something."

"What do you want?" Kabal growled.

"Why did you come back?" Briggs asked, crossing his arms.

The vigilante looked to the ground for a moment before replying. "Well, to be honest, I was planning on getting out of the city. But then, Anarky showed up on the television."

"Yeah, I saw that. I'm surprised we still had power."

"Well, what he said, it made me think. I would've been alone against him had I left at that very moment. But, now, I may stand a fighting chance with more people at my side."

Briggs smiled lightly. He held out a hand, offering it to Kabal. The vigilante took it hesitantly, but nonetheless took it. After a few firm shakes, Briggs said, "Welcome to the team."

Kabal smiled underneath his mask, and nodded lightly.

* * *

><p>Rain paced around the room, grumbling to himself. The anxiety was killing him. And soon, other things would be as well. He rubbed his left arm absently, fearing when the bomb would go off. Gor Roh was sitting at the table fiddling with a nearby laptop. He looked up when his boss threw the chair near the desk across the room. The commissioner groaned inwardly. The 'prince' had been acting like this all week. It was not like Gor Roh was not worried about the bomb, but there was a difference between 'worry' and 'paranoia.'<p>

Gor Roh switched the laptop off before asking, "Is that really necessary?"

Rain shot his lackey a death glare. He then ignored the underling, instead shouting, "Anarky! You still listening you useless piece of shit?!"

"_No need for such language," _Anarky's voice spoke over the intercom. "_What is it with you people and the cursing? There are more civilized ways of speaking, or do you not understand that?"_

"Shut up," Rain hissed. "Look, you piece of slime, I'm willing to discuss terms with you in person. On a few conditions."

"_Oh? And what might those be?" _Anarky mockingly asked.

"You talk with me and me alone, you understand?"

"_So, Gor Roh will remain there?"_

"Also, I bring my own personal guards. That way, you don't try anything funny," Rain finished.

"_Anything else I should know about?"_ Rain glared at the intercom. "_Oh, you look so adorable with that Batman scowl on your face."_

That cause the crime lord to step back. "How do you…?"

"_I have to admit, you have some heavy duty security. And all of those dirty little secrets I could just release to the public," _Anarky jabbed. A humored sigh made its way through the sound system. "_Imagine all of the panic would cause. Well, actually, all you have to do is look out the window. But I agree with your terms. You have a deal. My escort will be with you in an hour._

"_I'll be in touch."_

Rain's left eye twitched slightly. Gor Roh hesitantly asked, "Boss, are you gonna pop a blood vessel?" When Rain turned to glare at the commissioner, he said, "Never mind. Looks like you already have."


End file.
